Indianapolis Colts 2016 Season Preview

(photo credit: fansided.com)

In 2014, the Indianapolis Colts went to the AFC Championship game, but lost to the New England Patriots 45-7.  The AFC Championship game might have sparked deflategate but hopes were high for the Colts headed into the 2015 season.  The Colts went into the off-season following the AFC Championship loss signing key veterans Andre Johnson and Frank Gore believing these moves would help put them over the top.  Unfortunately for Indianapolis they missed the playoffs in 2015 following a rough season.

In 2015 the Colts saw their All-star quarterback, Andrew Luck, go down with an injury.  He only played seven games. The 8-8 season saw some interesting quarterback development as Matt Hasselbeck played eight games, Charlie Whitehurst played in four games, Josh Freeman even started a game, and Ryan Lindley saw some action.  Josh Freeman didn't even play a game in the 2014 season.  The Colts really hope to have Andrew Luck play the entire 2016 season for them to have a chance in an AFC South division that has improved recently.

The Colts went into the draft looking to boost their offensive line.  First they drafted Ryan Kelly, the Center out of Alabama.  In round three, they drafted Le'Raven Clark out of Texas Tech for an outside tackle slot.  They would pick up another tackle in the fifth round, Joe Haeg from North Dakota State to really help protect Andrew Luck.  Finally, in the seventh round, they drafted one more center out of Iowa, Austin Blythe.  Indianapolis saw that they need to protect Luck so that they could give him time to throw the ball as well as keep him healthy.  By keeping Luck healthy, the Colts have the potential to win the division and be dangerous towards a possible Super Bowl run.